An Old Acquaintance
by Cat929
Summary: William and Elizabeth meet up, by chance, on Christmas Eve.


_This is just a little short story that I thought I'd do for the holidays. It came to me when I was driving, and a certain song came on the radio that I love. I thought, 'wow, I could make this into a bit about Darcy and Elizabeth'. So, that's just what I did. It's a quick read, but be forewarned; there's no happy ending. Hope you enjoy it just the same._

* * *

"An Old Acquaintance"

William took a deep breath, inhaling the cold, invigorating air into his lungs as he slowly made his way down Main Street. The snow fell from the sky in long, lazy spirals, covering the ground with a dusting of perfectly white powder, muting his footsteps as he walked.

The streets were nearly deserted, but here he was, heading toward the only market in town that was open on Christmas Eve, solely to buy his ailing mother her favorite holiday drink: egg nog. He'd forgotten to pick it up when he'd shopped earlier in the day. That trip had been completely last minute as it was; he'd only just arrived from out of town that afternoon, and when he saw the state of his mother's refrigerator and pantry, he immediately made a list of necessities and headed out. Unfortunately, egg nog hadn't made the list.

He could have driven, but decided that the one mile walk would feel good, and he was right. It was peaceful, walking alone, looking at all the decorative lights on houses and businesses, the electric candles glowing in windows. There was just something about Christmas Eve he'd always loved, even as a boy; it had it's own special magic, almost a hushed anticipation about it.

When he reached the market, he stomped his snow-covered boots outside and opened the door. He was met with a blast of heat and a chorus of 'Joy to the World', the sound-system of the market blaring the carol as if the weary, last-minute shoppers inside would suddenly find themselves full of Christmas spirit if the music was played as loudly as possible.

Will made his way to the rear of the store, toward the dairy section. As he turned into an aisle in the frozen foods, he noticed a woman standing at the opposite end, staring into a freezer door absentmindedly, looking as if she was a million miles away. He couldn't see her face, but something about her seemed familiar; perhaps it was the way she stood, her head cocked slightly to one side, as if the frozen vegetables in the freezer were actually a display of fine art. Glancing at her again, this time longer, he knew what it was that struck a cord with him; her hair.

_I knew someone with hair like that once. _The memory of that someone seeped into his brain, and he smiled sadly to himself_._ Will watched as the woman turned slightly, enabling him to see her clearly in profile, and his stomach lurched in recognition. He watched as she opened the freezer door, just as he was coming within reach of her, and before he knew what he was doing, he came up behind her and reached out to lightly touch her arm.

"Elizabeth?"

She turned and looked at him, an expectant smile already on her face, her bright blue eyes as expressive as always. The smile faltered slightly as she gazed at him, but then he suddenly recognition as it spread across her expression. "William?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's me."

They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, until she reached to wrap her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. He returned it without hesitation, holding her close, his mind instantly remembering the curves of her body, and the way it had always fit perfectly with his. Breathing deeply, he inhaled the scent of her hair, and felt a jolt of longing so powerful that it nearly made him lose his balance.

After a moment, they both seemed to realize that their embrace had gone on a bit too long, and they stepped back from each other.

"I can't believe this. I can't believe you're here," Elizabeth said, smiling up at him, still with a look of shock on her face. She reached up to touch the thick beard that he'd let grow in over the past couple of months. "I didn't recognize you with all this fur."

It was then that he noticed her wedding band. He felt his skin flush, and he shrugged. "I'm on a little break, so I thought I'd be lazy."

"Well, it looks great." Her eyes traveled over his face, as if they were searching for something. "You look wonderful," she said softly.

"So do you." He smiled. "This is a bit surreal, isn't it?"

She nodded. "It is."

He stared unabashedly, unable to pull his eyes from hers. "I have to go grab something...are you in a hurry?" Before she could answer, he spoke again. "Sorry, stupid question. It's Christmas Eve, you must have somewhere to be." _Probably with your husband._

Elizabeth shook her head, and for a brief moment, he saw a trace of sadness in her eyes. "I don't, actually." She glanced at her watch. "Not for another couple of hours, anyway."

"Oh. Um...do you...would you want to grab a drink? Or something? I'd – I'd really like to catch up." He couldn't let her go, not yet.

She nodded slightly. "I'd love to."

Will grabbed his carton of egg nog while Elizabeth grabbed the rest of the things she needed. They walked to the front of the store together, paid for their items, and headed out into the frigid night air.

"Where are you parked?" Elizabeth asked, looking around the nearly empty lot.

Will groaned. "I'm not."

"You're not?"

"No. I – I forgot. I actually walked from my mother's house. It's not too far, and it was so nice out..." He was entranced by the sight of the snowflakes as they clung to her hair, and watched as one drifted down to settle on her cheek, where it quickly transformed into a tiny droplet of water.

"Well, we'll just take my car." They walked to her small black sedan, and they both climbed in. "I bet Tony's is open, why don't we head there? It's right around the corner."

"That sounds good."

Unfortunately, Tony's wasn't open. In fact, not a single bar in the downtown area was. They did, however, find an open liquor store.

"Well, no bar, but...how about a couple of beers in the car?" Elizabeth suggested.

Will could hear the hesitation in her voice, as if she wasn't sure of herself, and he was reminded of the Elizabeth he'd known all those years ago. "Beers in the car is fine with me."

He went into the liquor store and came out with a six-pack for them to share. At first, the conversation lagged a bit, but soon enough, they were talking comfortably.

"So, what brings you back this way? Just a holiday visit?"

"It's actually my mom. She hasn't been well, so I thought I'd come spend some time with her. I just got here this afternoon, but I'll be here for a couple of weeks." He paused. "I suppose I don't come home as much as I should, so...I'm due for a long visit."

"And how's Georgie?" Elizabeth asked, studying him.

He stared at her for a long moment. "Georgie and I haven't talked in a long time."

"Oh, Will, I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be. She made some choices...those choices had consequences." He sighed. "I just wish she'd call my mother, just to let her know how she's doing. There's been nothing, no calls, no emails, no letters...nothing. Rit sees her occasionally, and always tells me when he does, but she doesn't spare him much time either."

Elizabeth grinned at the mention of Will's cousin. "How is Rit? Still up to no good?"

Will smiled back. "Absolutely."

They both laughed for a moment, and then silence enveloped them again. Elizabeth took a slow sip off of her beer.

"How's your family?" Will asked, determined to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, gosh, they're all fine. Jane is married now and has a little boy, Mary and Catherine are both still away at school...and Lydia is off traipsing around the globe, living out of a backpack and loving it."

Will chuckled. "Surprise surprise. How about your parents?"

"They're fine, they actually moved down to Florida. They couldn't take anymore New England winters."

"Can't say I blame them," Will said, chuckling again. "The snow is nice and all, but after a few weeks, I know I'll be ready to head for home."

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "And home is where now?"

"Arizona."

"Oh, wow. Definitely not cold there."

"No, definitely not."

"Did you – are you married?"

Once again, she sounded unsure of herself, almost as if she wanted to know, but didn't want to know.

He shook his head, looking straight into her eyes. "No." Reaching down, he lifted her left hand, squeezing it gently. "I see you did."

Elizabeth nodded. "I did, we've been married for six years. His name is Daniel. He's..." she paused, choosing her words carefully. "He's a good man. Dependable, responsible. Um, he works in the city, he's an architect." She looked away from Will, choosing instead to gaze at the fogged up windshield. "He takes care of me. He's – he's a good man."

_She doesn't love him. _The thought entered his mind immediately, and somehow, he knew it to be true. There was no sparkle in her eyes when she spoke of him, no expression of love on her face. _Not like when she was with me. _

"Is it enough?" Will asked, the words slipping from his mouth in a whisper before he even realized what he was saying.

Elizabeth turned back to face him. "Does it matter?"

Will swallowed thickly, then took a long drink from his beer. He didn't know how to answer that question. Yes, it did matter, even though he knew it was much too late for it to matter. He knew it shouldn't. It couldn't.

They stared at each other for a long moment, and without thinking, he reached out to stroke her cheek lightly. "You really do look wonderful. Beautiful as ever." He paused. "Your eyes are so blue. I've forgotten, I guess, just how blue they are." He paused, and a small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. "They're the same color as a September sky."

He lowered his hand, but was pleased to see her smile back in reaction, pushing them past the discomfort of the previous moment.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, giving a short laugh. "That was the corniest line I'd ever heard. I can't believe I fell for it."

"How could you not?" he asked, smiling broadly now. "You were a freshman, I was a junior, and I was tripping all over myself to be around you. If you hadn't given me a shot, my friends would have ridiculed me endlessly."

"They did anyway. Charles was the worst."

Will nodded. "True." He shook his head slightly. "Remember the time he came barging into my dorm room?"

"Ohh, when you forgot to lock the door? I was mortified."

His eyebrows rose. "I was a legend."

She laughed and slapped him lightly on the arm. "Shut up."

Will raised his beer. "To the glory days."

A soft, sad smile graced her lips. "To the glory days."

They gently tapped their bottles together, and both took long sips. Silence surrounded them again.

"So," Elizabeth said after a bit, "things seem to be going really well for you. I was in Spinnaker a couple of months ago...maybe six months? Your new CD was front and center."

"Yeah, things are going well. I'm getting ready to tour again, starting in February. I'll be overseas first, then back in the states in April."

Elizabeth looked at him again, those big blue eyes burrowing deeply, just as they always had. "Are you enjoying it? Life on the road?"

He shrugged. "I'm not always on the road, I get a lot of downtime. I love the performing, but I'll only play small places. I'm not cut out to be an arena act. The crowds are fantastic...they embrace the music, you know?" He paused. "Life on the road, when I _am_ on the road, can be pretty tiresome though." _And lonesome_. "Hotels, motels, a tour bus...that part of it gets to be a grind. But standing up there, on the stage...that feeling...it makes it all worth it."

The way she smiled at him, with that sadness once again in her eyes, made his chest ache.

"I always knew you'd make it. I knew you'd be famous, from the first moment I heard you sing. I knew you were going to leave us all behind..." her voice trailed off, and she quickly looked down at her beer. The silence wrapped around them, filled with an unbearable heaviness, and he knew at that moment that they were both feeling the same thing; an acute, gaping emptiness, one that some small talk and a few beers in a car would never fill.

After a moment, she raised her eyes back to his, and lifted her bottle. "All gone," she said quietly.

Will raised his bottle. "Mine too."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and started the car. "Do you – do you want me to drop you back at your mom's?"

He shook his head. "No, that's okay. Could you take me back to the market? I'll just walk from there." He needed the time to clear his head. It felt as though he was in a dream, one of the thousands he'd had about her over the past ten years.

She drove him back to the market, and when they got there, they turned to face each other as the car sat idling. Will was trying to figure out how to say goodbye. _Again._

"It – it's really, really good to see you, Lizzy," he said quietly, and watched as her eyes instantly filled with tears. She looked away, shaking her head, and gazed out the window next to her.

"Do you know that no one calls me that?" she whispered as she turned back to him, reaching to wipe her eyes briskly at the same time. "No one ever has, except you."

Will shrugged. "You'll always be Lizzy to me." He reached out to grasp one of her hands, and squeezed it tightly. "Merry Christmas."

She leaned towards him, reaching up to cup his face in her hands, stroking his beard gently with her thumbs. Slowly, her lips touched his, just barely. The pressure was slight, but she lingered for a moment, not deepening the kiss, not moving at all, just lightly holding her mouth to his.

Will didn't dare move, but he felt his heart give a painful thud before it began beating rapidly. Her lips were as soft as he remembered, their shape and texture imprinted somewhere deep in his mind. He laid his hands gently over hers, and she slowly lifted her head away from his.

"Bye Will," she whispered, lowering her hands. "Merry Christmas."

He stared at her, once again feeling a fierce longing, a longing for something – for someone – that he knew would never be his. He picked up his bag and opened the door, and the chill of the air seemed to seep straight to his bones. "Bye Lizzy." His mind spun in a million different directions as he closed the door and watched her drive away.

For a brief moment Will felt as though he was back in college, feeling that old, familiar pain as if it was just yesterday that he had said goodbye to her for the first time. He watched her car as it drove further away, and found himself desperately hoping that he'd see brake lights, that she'd turn around and come back. Inevitably, though, the car soon disappeared from his sight.

He sighed deeply, and as he began to walk, he realized then that the snow had slowly begun to turn to rain.

* * *

_Anyone want to take a stab at what song I was listening to? Some of you know it, I'm sure. Please leave a review if you have time, I would truly appreciate it. Happy holidays! _


End file.
